Got this one back at the end of October, and because of the deluge of albums I receive in a month (not complaining though!) I am only now getting to this one. Evening Skies hails from Northern Germany and their self-titled debut EP has swiftly made its way into a regular rotation for me over the last few weeks. Founded in 2011, the band is a four piece, employing yet another female singer but not in the expected symphonic/Goth metal style. Front woman Cathy is a legitimate heiress to the school of Doro, with a gruff style of vocals that fits nicely with the band’s traditional metal approach.

Evening Skies offers up a heap of steaming, mid-paced metal thick and melodic. Wading into the chunky waves of rhythms one can hear elements of Accept, Warlock, The Mystery and a bit of Helloween. Cathy delivers the goods with inspirational and memorable vocal hooks. Her talents shine come chorus time on “The Dykemaster”, lyrically employing the Maiden trait of developing songs based on works of literature, in this case Theodor Storm’s masterwork “The Rider On The White Horse.” Credit the band for instilling the appropriate feeling of melancholy and doom on this track, which fits with the outcome of the novel perfectly. Other lyrical inspirations range from Greeky mythology on “Sound Of Sirens” to history and the sinking of the city of “Rungholt”, a truly ass kicking tune that is up tempo and worthy of hoisting a pint in its honor. The song is made more admirable by the band yet again capturing the somber spirit of that fateful storm that wiped out the doomed city, while remaining simultaneously uplifting.

Musically, Falko H delivers outstanding riffs, delivered with precision while not being overly technical. The bass and drums are likewise booming, and while some of the compression that unsigned bands always seem to have is present, the production is overall satisfactory. At only five tracks, things end much too soon and it is clear that however many songs the band wrote, they picked five winners to record. Naturally, I am looking forward to seeing if the band can maintain this level of quality over a full length album. I was a big fan of The Mystery’s debut album last year (it made my top 20 list as well as Mystic Prophecy) and Evening Skies follows in the same style as The Mystery while presenting their own worthy style. Combine these three great albums with Kreator’s album of the year and it is clear that German metal is once again vying for world ascendancy. Recommended for fans of The Mystery, Doro, Accept, and other traditional metal bands.